Pokemon: Emeralds of Corruption
by WedgePalmer
Summary: A fic I wrote for a few friends and my little brother and sister. When Fifteen year old Kerensa and her twin brother begin their journies across Hoenn, they get more than they bargined for. Pokemon Emerald, but with some new, original characters. R and R!
1. Series one: Trailer

**I suddenly thought to myself: This story needs an intro or theme-song and accompanying movie.**** I know my choice of song won't appeal to everyone: but there we go. Oh, and the intro will contain hints at possible future events so it's worth reading. Just try to imagine it as the intro to a new TV series, and enjoy:**

**Theme tune****: Hero by**

_Would you dance_

_If I asked you to dance?_

(Camera fades in on a twinkling, azure sky. The sun glimmers brightly and a flock of Wingull flies past, squabbling and cawing. Camera slowly angles down to point at a cluster of houses on the outskirts of a patch of leafy woodland.)

_Would you run_

_And never look back?_

(A girl in a green bandanna, skirt, black leggings, boots and a blue tank top bursts through one of the doors and begins to sprint towards the edge of town.)

_Would you cry_

_If you saw me crying?_

_And would you save my soul tonight?_

(The camera switches to a side-on shot of a boy in jeans, a white t-shirt and hiking boots. He is standing on a rock on what appears to be moorlands, and his black hair is ruffled by the wind. He tosses a poke-ball into the air a couple of times, reaches some kind of decision and jumps from the rock, off the edge of the cliff)

_Would you tremble_

_If I touched your lips?_

(A large, skeletal dragon-like creature swoops and catches the boy in a leather saddle on its back, before soaring on the sea-winds towards the horizon)

_Would you laugh_

_Oh please tell me this!_

(Shot switches to a rocky quarry-like area. A young man in his twenties, dressed in a sleuth-style trenchcoat and boots, with curly black/brown hair stops in front of a tall, black rock that seems to warp and bend the light.)

_Now would you die?_

(The rock begins to crack)

_For the one you love?_

(It bursts like a grape squeezed between finger and thumb, and a monstrous thing that appears to be made of pure shadow in 3D form beats its birdlike wings and takes off from the rubble.)

_Hold me in your arms, tonight._

(The guy calls out a chubby, friendly-looking Dragonite, leaps on his back and takes off in pursuit.)

Cuts to chorus

_I could be your hero, baby!_

_I could kiss away the pain!_

(A shot of a lonely-looking blonde-haired teenager; looking down on a town from the top of a hill. Beside him, a tough little Ralts sits in a meditative position.)

_I will stand by you forever!_

_You can take my breath away…_

(A new shot; the green-bandanna wearing girl and the boy with the mousy blonde hair are sitting together on a rock, watching the sun set over the ocean.)

End Chorus

_Would you swear_

_That you'll always be mine?_

_Or would you lie?_

_Would you run and hide?_

(A shot of the boy with the skeleton-dragon, the girl in the bandanna, the teenager with the blonde hair and two girls in fashionable clothes standing together. Behind them is a Dragonite, but it is crying, with tears streaming from its big eyes. They all seem to be comforted by their closeness to one-another. A man in priest robes makes the sign of the cross, and the watchers break into sobs as they gaze upon the gravestone beside the vicar.)

_I don't care;_

_You're here tonight…._

(the people from the funeral, along with the man in the trenchcoat, a boy with long brown hair, a teenager in samurai robes and a slightly-emo looking teenager with black jeans, t-shirt and hair are all standing on the edge of a cliff, watching the sunset.)

**How was that? A bit melodramatic? Comments, please!**

**I hope this teaser attracts more readers, but it probably won't.**

**Oh well, it was worth the effort. **


	2. Littleroot Naitivity

The jolting stopped, suddenly, and Kerensa was thrown into a pile of half-empty cardboard boxes. Inside one, she heard something delicate shatter.

"Oops…" she muttered, picking herself up and brushing her long, black hair out of her eyes. The doors of the truck creaked open and light flooded in.

"Kerensa?" a voice asked; cautiously.

"Here" she muttered "Not the most comfortable ride I've ever had…"

Her older brother stepped into the truck; dark brown eyes (a family trait) looked her up and down for a moment.

"Your own fault for choosing to stay with me until the last truck of our stuff set off. You could have gone with mum in the first one." He chuckled.

"Yeah well, whatever. Are we there or did we break down again?" she sighed

"We're here; mum's waiting for us, come on!"

--

Kerensa jumped down from the back of the mover's truck; looking around their new home. Littleroot town was a small, quiet place. A few dozen houses and a couple of shops were all that it had to offer, but it was a lovely little place. Kerensa had thought she'd be bored there, when told about it before they moved, but her mother had assured her that the nearby Petalberg city had cinemas and whatever else her old city home had been near.

She decided she'd like it.

..But what about her family? Would they be there to keep her company? They had moved here because their father had a job, managing the Internet Boxes that trainers could keep their pokemon in. He and a friend had initially designed this system, but now the company belonged to his friend and Kerensa's dad had been content to keep his manager's position.

Her mum had decided to find a job somewhere in Littleroot, or nearby, to keep an eye on the house, so she'd be around. Kerensa loved her mum, but she knew she'd get bored of hanging around in their house.

She had three brothers. One of them, Rohan, was her twin and he'd gone down here before her. He, like her, was fifteen, so he'd probably be at home most of the time anyway.

Then there were her two oldest brothers. Kiran was the middle child; twenty years of age. He could be bad-tempered and obnoxious, but they all loved him really and he was alright. He had become a pokemon trainer at sixteen and gone off on his journey, but had recently settled for a job in Petalberg City, nearby, so he would be around, she supposed.

Finally, there was her eldest brother. Twenty-two year-old Dan had become a trainer, seen the world, and come home. He had been living at their home in Kanto for almost a year, looking for a job, and he had finally found one in Hoenn; a freelance Detective, or Bounty Hunter. Thinking about him, and his career, Kerensa almost laughed. He was _not _the sort of guy you'd expect to find in that line of work. He was the gentlest man she knew, and if it hadn't been for his successful trainer's journey around the world, she wouldn't have thought him incapable of doing it.

She was snapped out of her daydreaming when she walked into Dan's back. He had stopped in front of a whitewashed cottage, on the edge of town. A stream gurgled behind it and the trees were bent over with age. The place had a serene beauty and she finally knew why her mother had chosen the country over the city.

There was her mother now: She sat in a deckchair on the veranda' smiling and drinking from a mug.

"How was your journey?"

"Fine" Dan replied, ascending the stairs "Not too bumpy for me."

"Good, good…" their mum said. She had brown hair, which was tied into a bun, and wore a long, summer dress. Kerensa knew that she was the only one in her family who did not have dark brown hair: hers was jet-black. The others had all inherited their mother's brown hair, although Dan's was very dark, you couldn't tell unless you looked closely.

"Mum, where's dad?" Kerensa queried. Their father had gone on ahead of all of them to secure his new office.

"He's working, and he's got a room in Fallarbour town. He'll come down this weekend."

"Fair enough; what about Rohan and Kiran?" she asked. There was a sudden, uncomfortable silence, which meant that her eldest brother and her mother both knew something she didn't. Something she wouldn't like.

"Kiran's gone to Petalberg, to work in the Gym." Her mum said, avoiding disclosing the whereabouts of her twin. Dan shifted, nervously adjusting the cuffs of his long, grey, fabric greatcoat.

"He's not dead is he?" Kerensa asked, with a hint of playful hopelessness in her voice. Dan smiled, nervously.

"Well, we know the two of you were going to start your pokemon journey at the same time…" he began. Kerensa's face darkened and her hands clenched into fists. She knew what was coming next.

"…But he met Dad's old friend, Professor Greton, who lives here." Her mum went on. "anyway, Greton gave him a Pokemon and he started to train it and-"

"HOW COULD YOU!" She screamed. "You're SO unbelievable! You let him start before me!"

Dan cowered before his little sister's tantrum.

"It was mum who let him! She only told me on the phone!" he whined, sounding like a twelve year old.

"Now Kerensa…" her mum tried to calm her down "We didn't let him start his journey, we just let him get his Pokemon early. He's still around here; training it outside town, probably."

She cooled down, but was still angry.

"Now he's got a head start on me; he'll gloat about his 'power' all the time, you know what he's like." She growled.

"You don't have to listen to him" Dan smiled "Besides; we got a present to make it up to you…"

"Oh, trying to bribe me won't work…." She sulked "…what is it?"

"…new Pokenav?"

"I love you mum…"

--

The trio entered the house. It wasn't big, but it was pretty tall, with around five floors. Kerensa's room was on the top one, and she quickly set up her stuff there. She then wandered downstairs to find her mum and Dan both watching TV.

"What's on?" asked Kerensa. Her mum turned to her.

"It's the news. I was just watching when there was a newsflash."

"Oh, what now?" she sighed "Natural disaster?"

"Nope" her mum looked worried "a young trainer got himself in over his head nearby"

Kerensa got that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Is it Rohan?" she asked, nervously. Even though she was furious with her twin for getting a head start, she didn't want him to get hurt.

"We don't know. The helicopter camera view is obstructed by the trees."

Kerensa suddenly stopped and listened. The sound of rotors became audible, faintly.

"I hear the news helicopter!" she exclaimed "It must be nearby!"

Dan got to his feet.

"I'd better go save him then, whoever _he_ is."

He strode out, quickly, and they heard his footfalls heading across the wooden bridge, to the forest outside the town.

"That forest is like a maze. What if he gets lost…?" Kerensa asked. Her brother wasn't known for his sense of direction. Her mum stood up.

"I'll go and find Professor Greton; his office is in the town. Perhaps he can help."

Her mum, too, left the house in a hurry. Kerensa was left twiddling her thumbs, and glancing at the shaky camera shots on TV. They occasionally showed a teenage boy of Rohan's height and build fleeing through trees and making random turns. A pack of doglike Poochena's chased him, angrily barking and snapping at his heels.

Then something happened. The screen of the television flickered, and went dark. At first, Kerensa thought it must be a power cut, but then a pair or eyes appeared on set. They were deep crimson and slitted like a cat's, and they held madness, hate and rage. Kerensa let out a cry as the thing on the TV spoke, in a hushed; angry voice:

"Look upon me and be afraid, human. Two will die, and then I will be the death of you all."

"W…what?" she stammered. The set hissed with static and went blank. Kerensa sat in silence for almost a minute. There was the sound of the door handle turning and she cried out again, half-expecting the creature to be there, but it was just her mum. In tow was a balding man with a long nose and green eyes. He wore a coat and hat, on top of casual summer wear.

"Hey Kerensa!" he smiled "It's been a while!"

"Hello Professor." She calmed down a little. The professor sat down beside both her and her mother, and placed a bag on the table.

"Now I've got to be honest; Dan's probably dealing with that hoarde of Poocheana as we speak. However, I've got three poke-balls here. I know you probably want to think about what pokemon you start with, but there's no time. You can choose your starter now and go and help, or you can stay here and start later."

The choice was obvious.

"I'll help. What are they?"

Each poke-ball had a precious stone set into it. One held a small ruby, one a sapphire, and one an emerald. The Professor released each pokemon in turn.

"Mudkip" he declared. The pokemon with the sapphire-topped pokeball opened and a small, blue, froglike creature emerged from it. It had curious, sad-looking eyes, a fin atop its head and orange whiskers on its cheeks. A second fin was its tail, and it had small legs that made it look clumsy on land. He then recalled it and opened the emerald poke-ball.

"Treecko" It was a gecko-like pokemon, with large eyes and a thick, green tail that helped it balance on its hind legs. Finally, he let out the pokemon with the ruby poke-ball.

"Torchic" he smiled. It was a chubby, cute-looking bird with a hooked beak and small; angry eyes. It had orange, downy feathers, and stubby wings. There was a tuft of red feathers atop its head and it stood on two, chicken-like feet.

Kerensa was torn, but knew there was little time to think. She thought about Torchic, but knew her brother had probably taken one when he'd chosen (he loved fire pokemon). Treecko had looked strong and determined, but she wasn't sure she could handle such a headstrong starter.

She picked Mudkip and took the sapphire-topped pokeball.

"A good choice: strong and dependable, yet young and willing to learn." The professor declared.

"What will you do?" Kerensa asked the two adults.

"I'll wait for the police, and give them a report on what's happened" Greton said.

"I'll take Bindi, and head into the woods, too." Her mother decided. Bindi was the family pet; an aging, black-furred Delicatty. She could handle herself in a fight, and had beaten off burglars more than once back in their family home in Kanto.

Wordlessly, Kerensa left the house and ran into the woods.


	3. The First Hurdle

The wood was oddly quiet (aside from the faint rotor blades of the copter). Kerensa found herself confronted by a crossroads. There were fresh prints leading off to the left, so Kerensa headed right. As she proceeded, a sudden rustling got her attention. She turned to see a Wurmple emerge from the trees behind her. The wormlike pokemon let out a hissing challenge and she knew she would have to fight it.

"Mudkip!" she called, hurling her pokeball "Tackle!"

The little blue pokemon appeared and hurled itself forward, butting the Wurmple. It growled and got up again from the patch of ground it had landed on, and then it too charged. Mudkip dodged left and hit the Wurmple in the side.

"Well done, Mudkip" Kerensa smiled, petting the little creature. The dejected Wurmple slithered off into the bushes.

"Mud?" it asked, head on one side like a puppy. Kerensa put the pokeball away and Mudkip wandered on ahead of her.

After a few minutes, Kerensa had defeated two other Wurmples, and a Poocheana. She came to a clearing, and found herself looking down into a small clearing. A boy stood with his back against a tree; a few bruises and bites marked his arms. A small Torchic was standing before him; eyes bright with battle-fury, but it was covered with injuries. It seemed to be on low health, and it was surrounded by four Poocheana. The boy was not Kerensa's brother, but another guy of the same age. He had long curly brown hair, and deep, green eyes.

"Let's go help him, Mudkip!" she said. The little pokemon leaped into the fray. The two trainers exchanged glances. The boy's Torchic, though stronger than Mudkip, was on its last legs.

"We can take two; don't worry about us!" the boy called, as though sensing what Kerensa was thinking. She was pretty sure he could not, but went with it.

Two of the black-furred hounds turned to face Mudkip.

"Tackle!" she ordered. Mudkip slammed into the side of one, but another tackled Mudkip, and he fell over.

"Mudkip!?" she gasped, but the sturdy little pokemon got to its feet and growled. The two attackers backed off slightly, surprised, and he tackled one, head-on. The second, again, came to the aid of its partner, but Mudkip turned and spat a blob of thick mud from his mouth.

"You learned Mud-slap!" Kerensa smiled, proudly.

The second Poocheana was blinded for a moment, and Mudkip took that opportunity to finish the first, and turn to face it.

Coincidentally, the other trainer had also defeated one of his opponents, but Torchic's strength was failing. It was on its knees; pecking feebly at its foe's attacks.

"Mudkip: Mud slap!" Kerensa ordered; a plan coming together in her head. Mudkip blinded its opponent (again), and then she ordered him to finish the one that harried the Torchic. It did not expect an attack from the rear, and went careering into the tree which the boy stood near. The last Poocheana regained its vision by shaking the mud from its face, and turned to look at the two pokemon, which stood side-by side.

"Mudkip: Mud Slap!" Kerensa ordered.

"Torchic: Ember!" the other trainer barked. Torchic spat a hail of hot embers, which scalded the little dog, and Mudkip finished it by knocking it down with a heavy gob of mud. For a moment there was silence, and then the boy turned to his savior.

"Um…" he began "I'm…Stan"

"Kerensa" Kerensa told him.

"Thanks for your help. I thought we were done for."

"Jeez" she muttered "What did you do to upset them?"

"Nothing!" He insisted "I was just training, and then they poured out of the trees and attacked me!"

"Someone must have done something to make them that angry…" she mused. She thought back to the strange message on the Television, and wondered if that had anything to do with it.

At that moment; Dan came crashing through the trees; long coat flapping about him like a mad thing. At his side, Sceptile slashed branches out of his way with his giant, praying-mantis scythes.  
"Sceptile: Sla-" he began, and then stopped.

"Ancient history, Dan…" Kerensa muttered "Just like you to get lost on the way to rescue someone."

"…Bloody Hell! How many of these guys did you fight?" he muttered, examining the fainted Poocheana that littered the ground. He looked over at Stan. "You okay; kid?"

"I'm fine…" Stan sighed "Torchic could use healing, though."

"I'll walk you home; where do you live?" Dan asked.

"In Oldale; just through these trees here"

"You did well, Kerensa. Nice one. Perhaps one day you'll be the best trainer in this family…" Dan told his sister, patting her shoulder, then: "Naaah…"

"I'll win against you one day…" she said, and she was serious. Dan nodded.

"We'll see. Go home; mum's waiting for you."

Stan walked up to her, returning Torchic to its pokeball as he walked.

"Thanks, again. You're pretty strong." He said.

"Don't worry about it." She yawned, putting on a show of modesty.

Her brother and Stan walked north, into Oldale, and she turned back, towards Littleroot.

"Mudkip?" her pokemon gurgled. She turned round and saw it sitting on the ground, looking tired from the long battle.

"Oh: Of course! Sorry. Return" she said, and then clipped Mudkip's pokeball to her belt.

--

In Littleroot, her mother had cooked up a curry, and they both ate. Mudkip leaped onto the table and began to share Kerensa's curry.

"You need to teach your pokemon some table manners!" laughed her mother.

"No: he'll be sharing my food on my journey, so he might as well start now." Kerensa smiled, and tickled her pokemon.

"So you really are going?" her mum asked "on the journey, I mean?"

"Yes mum." She replied. A fierce look came into her eyes. "I _really _want to do this."

"Very well. Remember to pack _everything _you'll need; but you can only take one rucksack with you; which you need to be able to carry, so no unnecessary things…" her mum lectured. Kerensa shook her head and got up.

"I'll be in my room, packing."

"Not yet. I have a little errand for you." Her mum said. Kerensa stopped; she could guess what it would be.

"I got a call from Rohan; he's north of Oldale town, training. He says he won't be home before dark, but if the two of you are going to start your adventure; you'd better tell him to come home."

"Fine." Kerensa muttered, sarcastically. She strode out of the house and Mudkip hopped down to follow her. She returned him to his pokeball, in the garden, and then crossed the bridge to the wood.

"Meow…" Bindi yawned, watching her go from the doorway.

"She'll be fine" her mum said, scratching the little cat pokemon behind the ears. Unfortunately, her Mum knew nothing of Kerensa's (mis)adventures to come.

And then Dan burst into the kitchen, holding something in his hand.

"Where's Kerensa?" he asked.

"She went to find Rohan. Why?" his mother replied, puzzled by his sudden, late appearence. Dan shook his head, and held up a box.

"I got her a present, to congratulate her on saving that kid. She fought well, you know."

"You're too late, she already left."

"Crap..." the guy muttered, slumping at the table "...all that running for nothing..."

**So what did you think? All will become clear, and the mysteries will begin to unravel themselves soon enough.**


	4. Coats, gangsters and a zombie

I intend to switch between characters every now and then; as most writers do in novels, but sometimes it may prove to be a little bit of a jump for some readers, so I'll just tell you, to be sure: We're switching to see how Rohan's been getting on…

**I intend to switch between characters every now and then; as most writers do in novels, but sometimes it may prove to be a little bit of a jump for some readers, so I'll just tell you, to be sure: We're switching to see how Rohan's been getting on…**

--

Rohan put the phone down, and wandered out of the pokemon center. He was tall for his age, with big, curious brown eyes and freckles. His black hair was cut fashionably short, and he wore a pair of torn jeans and a green and brown striped hoodie. His trousers were held up by a black belt, which had two pokeballs clipped to it. He had not been permitted to begin his adventure, and travel beyond Oldale Town, but no-one had thought to stop him buying poke-balls from the Mart and catching additional pokemon. It was becoming dark, and a light mist had settled over the town; covering it like a blanket. Most people were indoors, eating their evening meal or watching television, but Rohan was a trainer, now. He had to stay out; something in his mind told him. There was still time for a few more battles before he headed home.

Kerensa was back, Mum had told him. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. He liked the thought of battling his sister, when she got a pokemon, but there was just something annoying about having to travel with her on their journey.

Rohan turned out of the little town, through a footpath to the right. It took him up to a clearing with a river running through it, and he stopped. This would be the perfect spot to train.

…Except there was someone else there. Rohan was about to call out, when he sensed something was not quite right. He ducked behind a mossy, bent-over tree and watched. It was hard to make out in the mist, but two men were standing, talking.

"…so we go back to the boss?" the first asked. He was a tall man, and wore a long, black greatcoat of leather, a pair of grey jeans and a black t-shirt with white skull-and-crossbones on it. The other man was dressed in similar, dark clothes, and they both wore wide-brimmed hats. The other man nodded.

"That little brat wasn't killed though, some kid saved him."

"…Whatever; as long as the 'Aggravator' experiment was successful."

Rohan was certain these men were responsible for the Poocheana attack on that guy in the woods. His mum had filled him in on the details. Rohan was overconfident of the power of his Pokemon, and he was filled with contempt of these men.

"Halt!" he shouted, pulling a pokeball from his belt. Both men jumped; not expecting an intruder, and then burst out laughing.

"Are you playing policemen, kid?" the first man asked.

"Well let us play too: we can be the gangsters who kill you" the other laughed.

"Who the hell are you?" Rohan asked, ignoring them "your outfit is really naff, by the way…"

Both men snarled at the insult to their uniform.

"Who we are, is none of your business" the second man growled "what matters is that you overheard our conversation. Now you die."

"Go! Zubat!"

"Go! Rattata!"

The fanged, purple bat and the blue-furred rat appeared before their owners in a flash of light. Rohan frowned.

"Two on one? Now that's a little unfair."

"Shut up" the first gang member barked.

"I choose Zombi and Wurmple!" Rohan called, throwing both his pokeballs. He was very nervous: he knew about double-battles but had never had one. They sounded pretty complicated and he could not afford to loose this battle, if what these men were threatening was anything to go by.

Zombi was a newly discovered pokemon of the Dark type. It resembled a small ball-head with wide, blank eyes on top of a tiny body and two stumpy legs, but no arms or hands. It had several small scars running over its forehead and torso. Its mouth gaped; hungrily at the enemy Pokemon. All in all, it was cute in a helpless, zombie type of way. Rohan looked to the two men, thinking they'd laugh, but they both looked perfectly serious.

"Zubat: leech life that Zombi, quick!"

"Rattata, use your quick attack on Wurmple!"

Rattata dashed forwards, slamming into the bug pokemon and knocking it backwards, but it regained its footing and responded by tackling the surprised rat, directly in the face. Zubat swooped down and bit the little green zombie on the head, before making a retching noise and fluttering away.

"Ha-ha! Poisoned!" Rohan cheered. Zombi gave a happy gurgle, and then counterattacked by using tackle.

"Rattata; bite!" ordered the owner of the little rat. It responded by leaping for Wurmple and latching onto it. Wurmple squealed and struggled to loosen its attacker. Meanwhile, Zubat tried another leech life, but this time, Zombi stumbled out of the way and then used tackle. Zubat attempted to flutter up, but repeated tackles defeated it and it fainted.

Unfortunately; Rattata, gripping Wurmple in its mouth, twisted its head and threw the little bug into a tree. Wurmple, who was fairly weak, anyway, fainted as well.

"Looks like it's between you and me, kid…" the second, more brutal gangster smirked "…I've enjoyed this little bout."

Rohan wasted no time talking to him.

"Zombi; bite!"

The little undead Pokemon stumbled forward and gnashed its teeth shut on Rattata. The rat struggled and freed itself by using tail whip.

"Tackle!" the gangster ordered, desperately. Rattata was on its last legs: staggering and bruised.

"Dodge it!" Rohan snapped "Tackle it back!"

Rattata fell to the ground, bounced once and lay still.

"Useless Pokemon!" the man snarled. The two black-clad strangers returned their pokemon.

"That's all you've got!?" Rohan laughed.

"Don't push it, kid. You won today, but the Boss won't be happy when he hears of this. You're going to get it." The first gangster snarled, before the pair pushed past him and ran off into the fog.

"Well done, Zombi." Rohan smiled and petted the little beast. "We really should tell someone about those guys, though…"

At that moment, a voice called out to him. It was so sharp and angry, it seemed to cut through the fog itself.

"Rohan! Where are you!?" Kerensa yelled "I've got a bone to pick with you!"

"Oh crap…" Rohan muttered "My sister…"

"Wuuurgh?" gurgled Zombi

"My thoughts exactly…"

**So there you have it: chapter three!**

**Incidentally: I would like to point out that I'll be changing a lot of characters in this, and sometimes they will be gym leaders. I have also added a few new pokemon (yes, Zombi will have evolutions!), and there will also be a new element: Light.**

**If you want a character to show up in this fic, post details according to this rough Bio:**

**Name-**

**Age-**

**Gender-**

**Appearance-**

**Job-**

**Personality-**

**Pokemon-**

**Also, be aware that I will pick a select few characters, maybe two or three, because I already have an ample supply lined up for appearance soon.**

**There will be snobs, best friends, rangers and more soon.**

**Later, guys. Wedge signing off.**


	5. The Engineer of Fates

**Hey guys: it's chapter four! Let's get started!**

--

A figure was sitting in a tree, watching proceedings. He was the watcher and he liked to think of himself as an engineer of fates. He wore a plain, brown robe with a rope belt and a hood. It was very similar to a humble monk's outfit, and he liked it. It was easy to maintain and warm in the cold parts of Hoenn where he made his home.

…Except he wasn't at home, now. The watcher was down near Oldale town, keeping tabs on his latest project. Of course, even without him, fate would have the intended few do their part, but it would be shabby and take longer; why let a stream naturally carve its way to a village, when one could build aqueducts and pipes?

The watcher had seen the two men argue, and then the boy appear and defeat them. This child was gifted; and his aura was strong. Perhaps he would be one of the lucky ones…

And now a girl, the boy's twin, was arriving. The watcher knew this girl: she had defeated the Poocheana and saved another boy. Her aura was also strong. Slowly but surely, the pieces of fate, these children, were being drawn together; almost magnetically.

The watcher smiled, and knew he had been successful here.

--

Rohan pulled the earphones of his ipod from his ears.

"-so can you see why I'm so angry!?" Kerensa finished her rant.

"…Totally, Sorry sis." He muttered. He knew what she had been ranting about, but he didn't care. He was going to become the Champion of Hoenn and his sister was just slowing him down.

"Anyway" Kerensa took a few breaths and calmed down "Mum wants you back home, so we'd better go now; it's already sunset."

"Yeah, fine. I need a rest after all this training." Rohan muttered.

"Don't get me started again…" she warned.

"Oh yeah, by the way: we'd better be careful. I just battled these two guys, and they were threatening to kill me and stuff." Rohan declared as they began to walk towards Oldale.

"What!? Why'd you battle guys like that?" Kerensa gasped.

"You gotta stand up to criminals; you can't let them think they own the place." Rohan replied, as though she were stupid.

"I can't believe you'd do something as idiotic as that. Even by your standards, that's just…" Kerensa was winding up for a rant again. Rohan wandered on ahead, ignoring her cries of: 'wait up, I'm not done yet' and put the earphones in again.

--

They stopped in the Oldale Pokemon center, and then headed back through the woods to Littleroot town.

"I'm off to sleep." Rohan muttered, shambling up the stairs like his Zombi, and Kerensa sighed and settled down in the armchair before the Television. She was going to turn it on when she realized just how tired she was.

"Maybe just a little sleep" she muttered, releasing Mudkip to stretch his legs whilst she napped.

--

It was getting dark and the watcher had left the two confirmed pieces of the puzzle, to search for other possible candidates. More were needed, to shield his chosen if nothing else. The watcher sat upon a bench in Oldale town and closed his eyes. A ring of pure light glowed around his form for a moment then it shattered into dozens of shards. These shot off in all different directions, sniffing like hounds for prominent auras. Moments later, the watcher felt something tugging at his soul. Then it was two, three, four different sources. He had found several 'friends' and minders for the chosen ones. He stood, there was a sound like a twig snapping and he was gone. With his passage, the mists that engulfed the town began to lift.

--

The first was a boy. The watcher felt he was vaguely familiar, and realized that he was the victim of the Poocheana attack the previous day. It was more than that; his aura was strange. Most auras are like a little cloud, glimpses of the future, present and past of the bearer. Ones who are intended for special purposes have more prominent auras, but all auras have one thing in common: They have an end; a hint at how the person's life will end.

But this boy Stan, his aura was blurred and distorted towards the end of his life. Something terrible would happen to him, the watcher guessed. Some deaths are too twisted to even show on the aura.

Stan and his pokemon were currently resting in a Pokemon Center in Petalberg town; west of Oldale. The watcher appeared outside the center. It was dark and no-one noticed him, not that they'd do anything if they had: Humans nature meant that they were likely to shun or deny anything unusual they saw. And seeing a monk appear in a puff of fog outside a pokemon center was not a normal thing.

The watcher entered the Pokemon center, and walked to the counter. Nurse joy looked up at him, a slightly bemused expression on her face, but she was respectful, nonetheless.

"What can I do for you, father?" she asked, pushing a lock of pink hair from her face.

"I wish to book a room, if you have one free." He said. His voice was deep and the Nurse could've sworn there had been two or three people speaking at the same time, such was the strange accent he bore.

"…Of course we have a room." The woman gave him a key, which he took with a black-gloved hand. Thanking the night-nurse, the watcher wandered up the stairs. Not once did he remove his hood, but he did not need his eyes to see. His mind told him much more than his sight ever could.

As he reached the landing with the rooms on it, the strange man casually placed the key on a table to his right: it had simply been a ruse to get to the trainer sleeping quarters and he would not need it.

He sensed the presence of Stan coming from the room to his left, and stepped up to the mahogany door. One leather-gloved hand closed on the handle, and there was a click, before he even turned it. Then he opened the newly-unlocked door.

Stan lay, asleep on a bed opposite the entrance. The watcher approached the sheet-wrapped boy, and concentrated a moment. Sweat beaded his hidden brow, and then it was done: a sliver of golden light, like a wisp of smoke, drifted from his hand and into the lad's head.

"Sleep well, because everything changes tomorrow…" he whispered, before turning and leaving.

--

There was another in Petalberg city. Another boy, around two years older than Stan, lived in a house on the other side of the city. Even though it was night time, this boy was outside. He was not a trainer, the watcher could tell without even looking into his mind. This boy was just an average citizen. He was sitting, dejectedly in front of the gym, his breath escaping in clouds of white into the freezing night air.

"Hello Laurie." The watcher's voice was colder, and it made him jump

"Who the hell are you?" he snapped, looking up at the hooded stranger. The watcher held his hands up in mock surrender.

"I am merely an old trainer, looking upon the youth of today. Tell me child, why do you not have any pokemon?"

There was something calming in the strange man's voice, Laurie relaxed, involuntarily. He was tall, and thin. His high cheekbones were pinched, as though he were ill. Though there was nothing particularly ailing him, the watcher knew that being confined to this place, when he was meant for bigger things, was taking its toll on him. He had blue eyes, which were dull and bored at the moment, and short, wispy blonde hair. He wore a cargo jacket with several pockets, on top of a plain black t-shirt. He also wore grey jeans and trainers.

"I would like nothing more in this world, but my mother says that I am too weak to be a trainer. She is concerned that the lifestyle, all the journeys and loosing, would make me get ill."

His eyes were downcast. The watcher sat down too.

"I remember when I was your age, no-one thought I could cut it as a trainer." He sighed "But I proved them wrong: I became pretty good (in all modesty)."

"There's nothing I can do, she's made up her mind. Instead, I'm going to stay with my Uncle in Verdanturf Town…" he seemed miserable as he said this last sentence.

"Verdanturf!?" the watcher exclaimed, patting the teenager on the shoulder (and subtly releasing a small spray of golden dust, which faded into him) "But that's such a long way! What if you're attacked by wild pokemon?"

"We're taking the safe route there, along the main roads."

"That'll take days! If you just went straight there with a pokemon to protect you, you'd get there in 24 hours!"

"That's…true" Laurie mused to himself.

"Well then!" the watcher beamed "you should get one to protect you."

"…I've never caught a wild pokemon before…"

The watcher thought for a moment, then realized where they were.

"…oh: of course! The gym leader here is the son of an old friend of mine. He's a nice enough lad, and if you ask him when it opens tomorrow, I'm sure he'll help!"

Laurie looked up, eyes bright as electricity.

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course! Now go home and get some sleep!" the watcher ordered "You've got a big day tomorrow!"

Laurie looked over at the gym.

"I don't know how to thank you, I-" he began, but when he looked back, the watcher was gone, and the seat beside him was empty.

--

The watcher knew there would be others: people who would find their way into the 'retinue' of the chosen ones, rivals and foes that would help or hinder them. The future was uncertain and the edges were blurred, but the mists were beginning to clear. He could see fire and darkness, and death, but alongside that, there was unity and order. A choice would be made. But of that choice, the watcher had no control. All he could do was influence the ones who would make the choice. Even then, nothing was certain. Would damnation claim the world, or would it be united against the threat which would present itself?

The watcher wandered off to the west, towards the sea.

--

**So what did you think? Who is this mysterious Watcher? What does he want? Does he love Marmite? **

**All will become clear soon.**


	6. A Road and a Rival

"I can't believe you're going off on your journey…" Kerensa's mum sniffed, looking like she was about to cry. Kerensa grinned happily, and Rohan prodded at the turf outside their home with his toe, embarrassed.

"We'll be fine!" Kerensa laughed "Don't worry: Dan and Kiran did it and so can we!"

"Well here you are: just to keep you safe, here's your new Pokenav, Kerensa."

Her mother handed her a sleek, red and yellow PDA-like object. Kerensa checked the functions; phone, word documents, email, some internet, games and radio.

"Thanks!" she smiled, slipping it into her bag.

"But what about me!?" Rohan yelped. Their mum shook her head.

"You got those new running shoes last week, and the PDA was the last one in stock. Make do with your old one."

"Favouritism…" Rohan muttered, wandering off to the bridge.

"Bye, twins! Remember to phone and-" Mum began, but they had already run off over the bridge.

"I hope they'll be okay…" she muttered to herself.

"Meow!" Bindi mewled, lazily winding around one of her owner's legs.

"You're probably right." She sighed and wandered inside the house; Delicatty in tow.

--

The pair walked in a dull silence for a few minutes, interrupted once by a couple of Wurmple that ambushed them from the bushes. These were quickly dispatched and they continued on, arriving at Oldale town. The sun glowed heavily in the sky; as though it were weary of hanging there for most of the day. The time was five thirty PM and most of the townspeople were enjoying an evening meal. The pair headed for the Pokemon Center. It wasn't hard to find: Oldale was not a large town, housing only a thousand people at the most. Even though towns in Hoenn were not usually large, this was small by their standards.

"So" Rohan grunted, breaking the silence "are you going to continue through the night, or are you going to rest here until morning?"

They were sitting on leather couches in the foyer of the pokemon center, waiting for their pokemon to be healed.

"Well, it's not dark quite yet: if we hurry, we can make it to Petalberg city by nightfall, and then rest there" was the response from his sister.

The pair sat in silence again for a while. Neither was comfortable in the presence of the other: they were siblings, and rivals, but it was more than that. Now they were free, each wanted space to do his or her own thing. But at the same time, they were hesitant to do so. For all their sibling rivalry, they were still family, and their natural instinct told them to stick together in the big wide world.

Just as each was about to say something, there was a click, and a green light flashed on above the operation room. Nurse joy emerged with all three pokemon in tip top condition.

"They're fighting-fit!" she declared, handing back the pokeballs. The pokemon followed behind: Mudkip wagged its tail like a dog, running back to its owner, Wurmple made a happy face and slithered up Rohan's leg and fell asleep on his knee, and Zombi gave a delighted gurgle, ambled towards him and tripped over.

Rohan sighed "Are you okay?"

"Wuuurgh…" the little Pokemon grinned, getting up again.

"You guys are new trainers, I guess?" the nurse asked. They nodded.

"We just started yesterday!" Kerensa informed her. The nurse smiled.

"I'm required by law to advise you to stock up on potions and healing items at the local Mart. It's up to you, but just to remind you…" Nurse Joy told them, slightly patronisingly. "We've had a lot of youngsters like you getting hurt because their pokemon faint and they can't protect themselves from wild pokemon."

"Thanks for the advice." Rohan smiled "We'll keep that in mind."

Nurse joy walked away from the pair, just as a stranger entered the almost-deserted center; announced by a hiss of freezing wind that swept in through the door.

"Whoa…" Rohan muttered, as he looked up and met the eyes of the newcomer. The guy was around seventeen, with long, black hair in a single knot. His piercing, grey/silver eyes spoke of great intelligence, and the high-cheekbone face was evidence of a noble birth. His clothing was a plain set of travelling clothes, on top of which he wore a samurai-style Kimono. At his belt was sheathed an elegantly, ivory-handled katana and a single pokeball. He broke the stare that passed between the two of them, and then strode towards the desk and handed over his pokeball.

"Good evening mister…?" Joy began, prompting him.

"…Steel; Mikal Steel." He informed her, voice sounding upper-class and arrogant.

"Feudal age Japan called, they want their samurai back…" Rohan muttered. The man, without turning, stood completely still.

"What did you say…?" he hissed, over his shoulder.

"Hey, dude, it was just a joke!" Rohan laughed, in spite of himself. The man turned to face him, eyes ablaze with anger.

"You dare insult the honour of the samurai?" He snarled.

"What samurai?" Rohan snapped. He was terrified of this man, but decided to stand up to him. "This isn't feudal Japan…"

"I am the last of the samurai: The last of the great houses, and their traditions." There was the hiss of a blade being drawn from a sheath, and suddenly, a sword was pointing at Rohan's face.

"Calm down!" Kerensa snapped "Both of you!"

The samurai took his sword and slid it into its sheath, again.

"Hey!" Nurse joy barked, making them all jump "If you have issues with one-another, settle it outside. This is a hospital!"

"Why not?" the man asked, turning to Rohan.

"But I-" he stuttered. Rohan looked to his sister for help, but she turned away, exasperated at her brother's stupidity. Mikal Steel went to the desk and seized up his poke-ball.

"Face me in an honour duel: one pokemon on one." He challenged. Rohan laughed, showing mock bravado.

"I'll try to go easy on you" he teased, heading for the door. Steel followed him. Kerensa sighed and watched through the window, and Nurse Joy wandered off, grumbling.

--

"I choose Zombi!" Rohan growled, and the little dark type ambled forwards.

"Ha; you've only just got that Pokemon, haven't you?" the Samurai laughed "I can tell by your stature: you haven't grown to trust one-another yet."

"Zombi and I make quite the team, actually. Let's see your pokemon, Mr Steel." Rohan retorted. Steel shrugged and threw his pokeball into the air.

"Go; Beldum!" He called. A pokemon appeared before him in a flash of light. It had a single, crimson eye set into its football-sized metal head, and this swivelled on top of a cylindrical steel body, with three large claws on the bottom. The Beldum let out a humming noise and swivelled its eye to regard Zombi coldly.

"Huh? A Beldum?" Rohan muttered.

"Beldum: Bulk Up!" ordered Mikal. Beldum let out a low hum and shuddered slightly.

"Zombi: Bite!" Rohan cried. Zombi ambled forwards and bit the metallic pokemon on the side, before backing away.

"Keep using bulk up…" Steel ordered, sounding slightly bored. Beldum continued to shiver.

"Use Head butt!" Rohan shouted, desperately. The little Zombi butted the steel creature with the crown of its head, before staggering away, dazed.

"Now finish this…" the Samurai hissed "Take-Down…"

Beldum shimmered slightly; drawing up all available energy, then dashed forwards and bore down on the little pokemon.

"Dodge it!" Rohan cried "Move!"

This, however, came too late. The large, heavy creature crashed into the little Dark-type like a hammer, and Zombi fainted in a single blow.

"No!" Rohan gasped "Zombi!?"

"I told you: power comes with training." The Samurai smirked; patting the steel pokemon on its head, before returning it to its pokeball. "You will never be able to beat me in battle, though I have to say: I enjoyed myself."

"Fight me again!" Rohan snapped, instinctively. He pulled Wurmple's pokeball off his belt and glared at Steel, who mockingly pretended to wake up suddenly.

"Sorry; I couldn't hear you above the sound of how awesome I am…" he drawled "I've got places to be, so if we're finished here…"

"Like hell we are" the teenager snarled "Go, Wurmple!"

"Look; you lost, get over it." The guy snapped, hand wrapping around his sword handle "Maybe we'll fight again, one day, but until then, you'd better watch your attitude."

Rohan opened his mouth to hit back with a comment of his own, but instead he took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"Fine; I'll get stronger and defeat you another day." He breathed. The Samurai smiled, wolfishly, and slid his half-drawn blade into its sheath once more.

"Good" he said "You're learning. I look forward to our next encounter…"

The guy turned and walked off through the little cobbled streets of Oldale; to the west.

"…Arrogant swine!" Rohan growled, under his breath.

"No Ro, it's you who has the problems" Kerensa snapped, exiting the Pokemon center and stopping beside him.

"What the hell are you on about!?" her brother asked, exasperated.

"You started the fight by insulting him, he was just defending himself. You are the one who let your Pokemon get hurt because of some petty insults. Just look at Zombi!"

Rohan gazed down and saw the little creature curled up in a ball; sniffling. Wurmple made a cooing sound and tried to comfort him, but the frightened Dark-type paid him no attention.

"Hey, hey…" Rohan whispered, crouching down and picking him up gently.

"Wuuurgh…" his Pokemon whimpered.

"It's okay, we'll get stronger and teach that guy a lesson." He muttered, stroking the little bald head "We're going to be the best team ever; all three of us!"

Wurmple made a happy sound and crawled up his back; onto his head. Zombi stopped crying and looked up with big, sad eyes.

"We can only get better; so let's get to it!"

"Wuuurgh?"

"Okay, as soon as you're healed"

Rohan got up and carried his starter into the Pokemon center. Kerensa smiled and watched him.

"Who'd have thought it; Rohan's gone all sentimental…" She giggled. Mudkip gurgled happily from her ankles, ran around in a circle, and then leapt into a puddle on the pavement.

"I think someone needs a little time out" she smiled, picking up the little Pokemon and wandering inside.

--

**Okay, that was chapter five! Yay!**

**We now have us a rival, (though not the main two; they appear a little later) and we're going to set of for Petalberg next chapter (sorry it's moving a little slow at the moment, I've been busy and I wanted to get some work done before finishing this one).**

**Competition is still on! I'm not judging until I have a few votes, but thank you to all who've reviewed so far. **


	7. Cruel World

**I'm back, and here's chapter six:**

--

They rested until early the next morning in two small rooms above the Pokemon Center. Oldale was not a very big town, and few trainers went there so the rooms were hardly ever full. After handing in their keys, the pair headed to the mart to purchase potions, pokeballs and other useful items. After that, they walked the cobbled streets; to the western exit of the town. The little wooden archway had a single police officer on watch duty, and he gave them a tired-looking nod to signal that they could pass.

"Where to now?" Rohan asked.

"Petalberg is just through this wooded area here." Kerensa muttered, studying the map on her Pokenav. Rohan nodded.

"Meet you at Petalberg, then." He said, with a hint of mischief in his voice. He suddenly took off towards the west: grass and bushes crashing apart in his wake.

"Wait! Ro!" his sister called.

As she took a hesitant step after him, something gave a loud 'Caw!' above her, and she turned to see a Wingull land on a branch nearby.

"A Wingull?" she inquired.

"Win-GULL!" it cawed. She smiled and called out Mudkip from his pokeball.

"You're mine; Wingull." She growled.

The Wingull wasted no time in rising to waist height and swooping forwards with a tackle attack that knocked Mudkip backwards.

"Mudkip" Kerensa shouted "Mud slap!"

The little creature used its tail to fling a shovelful of mud at the flying pokemon, but it dodged the attack with a quick attack and then slammed into Mudkip's side.

"Are you okay?" she asked her starter. Mudkip got up; an angry expression on his face.

"Caw!"

"Look out!" Kerensa warned, and Mudkip deftly dodged a second swooping tackle. He responded by pouncing on the Wingull; tackling it from above, and knocking it out of flight. As it got to its webbed feet; dazed, he tackled it twice more and defeated it.

"Pokeball go!" Kerensa called, throwing a ball at it. The Wingull disappeared in a flash of white light, the ball shivered and twitched as though something was trying to get out, and then it was still. A shrill click from the pokeball confirmed the catch.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, picking up her Mudkip in her black-gloved hands "We caught our first new team member!"

"Muuud!" Mudkip yawned, happily.

Kerensa released Wingull from its pokeball, and stroked its white, downy head.

"You're with us now, understood?" she asked. It considered for a moment, then nodded its beaked head and settled on her shoulder. After healing the pair with potions, Kerensa continued on through the trees.

"Hey!" a voice called "Kerensa?"

Kerensa turned and saw a familiar figure approaching her from behind.

"You're that kid I saved from the Poocheana, aren't you?" she thought, aloud.

"Yeah…" Stan muttered, embarrassed. He had on a pair of comfy Jeans, a black t-shirt and a rucksack. His Belt already had two Pokeballs on it.

"You caught more pokemon?" she asked. He nodded; long brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze.

"Yeah, I thought I'd need more than just Torchic to protect me." He confessed, pulling off both of the containers. "Go; Torchic and Taillow!"

Torchic gave a delighted squawk, and ran over to greet Mudkip: they obviously recognised one-another from the battle. The newcomer to Stan's team sat solemnly on his shoulder: a small sparrow with blue and red feathers and a hooked beak.

"Nice" Kerensa acknowledged "they look in good condition"

"I've been training them" Stan smiled, stroking Taillow "I wanted to battle you, to see if I've done enough"

"Then I accept your challenge" she declared "A two-on-two battle with no time limit."

--

"Go: Taillow!" Stan ordered.

"I choose Mudkip!" Kerensa decided "Mud-Slap!"

The globule of mud was easily dodged by the agile bird Pokemon.

"Ground attacks have little to no affect on birds!" Stan informed her "quick attack!"

Taillow flitted around Mudkip's attacks and slammed into the side of him; causing the little creature to stagger backwards.

"I have other tricks up my sleeve" she smiled "Water gun!"

Mudkip spat a high-pressure jet of water from his mouth, hitting Taillow's wing and dashing him against the floor.

"Taillow!" Stan gasped

"Finish him: Tackle!"

Mudkip knocked the stunned bird into a moss-covered tree. He slid down the trunk and settled upside-down in the mud.

"Oh crap!" Stan muttered, picking up the tiny swallow pokemon "Go Torchic!"

"Hah: fire is no match for Water. Water gun"

Mudkip spat another stream of water, but Torchic was gone.

"What…?" she gasped. Torchic dropped from a low-hanging tree-branch, which it had used quick attack to reach, and performed scratch.

"Ember, then another quick attack" Stan ordered. Torchic scorched the little mud pokemon with a hail of embers, then head butted him into a tree.

"No, Mudkip!" Kerensa gasped.

"Nice one, Torchic!" Stan beamed, and scooped up the fiery bird.

"The battle isn't over yet! Go; Wingull" Kerensa called. The seagull pokemon swooped low, and Torchic leaped out of Stan's arms to attack.

"Ember" Stan ordered.

"Quick attack" Kerensa told the bird. The seagull dodged the scattering of embers, and then smashed into Torchic; face on.

"Quick; scratch!" Stan commanded. Torchic drove the Wingull back with scything claws, but Wingull used a water gun to pacify the rampant creature.

"Finish this: Water Gun again!" Kerensa barked. The jet of water hit the stunned Torchic, square in the forehead, and it fainted.

"What!?" Stan exclaimed "Torchic! Are you alright?"

"Tor…" his starter twittered; miserably

"You did well: return…" he sighed, returning the pokemon to its pokeball.

"You fought well" Kerensa told him. He shook his head, sadly.

"Thanks, but I really wanted to win. Ah well; I'll just train some more. You'd better do that too, or you'll loose next time we meet!"

He turned and strode back towards the town, whilst Kerensa healed up her Pokemon and continued.

--

On her way through the woodland, Kerensa fought a couple more battles with young trainers, her pokemon growing stronger with each victory. She felt herself growing, in a way: she was becoming more confident and caring towards her pokemon. She reached the other side of the woodland in half an hour, and was about to follow the path into Petalberg city, when something attracted her attention. It wasn't a sound, more like a feeling. It was like someone brushing you on the arm to get your attention, but it was in her mind: pulling her towards a particular group of bushes.

"Oh no!" she gasped. In the clearing was a little pokemon, lying against a tree. It was humanoid, about a foot tall, and wore a white robe-like garment. Its skin was a pure, pearly white, and a mop of green hair covered its eyes. A red horn protruded from its forehead.

"Ralts…" it murmured.

"You poor thing…" she cried "what happened to you?"

Kerensa heard a growl from behind her, and turned. A Poocheana was standing behind her: fangs bared. In fact, she realised, it wasn't just _a_ Poocheana; it was _the_ Poocheana: one of the ones she'd battled in the clearing with Stan.

"You're going down!" Kerensa snapped "Go; Mudkip!"

"Muuud!" gargled her pokemon, appearing in a flash of light.

Without waiting, the Poocheana leaped forward and performed a quick attack. Mudkip dodged, and tackled it.

"Now use mud slap!" Kerensa ordered "then water gun!"

The mud spattered the doglike pokemon across the face, and then, as it blindly tackled the space where Mudkip had been, a jet of water blew it off its feet. Without thinking, Kerensa pulled a pokeball from her bag and threw it. The pokeball clicked open and the Poocheana disappeared inside the capture device. It vibrated, angrily, as the creature attempted to escape, but then it was still, and a click announced the newest addition to her team.

"I'm going to have to teach him some manners…" Kerensa mused, turning back to the injured Ralts.

"Raaaalts…" it whispered.

"It's okay, I'm going to capture you and take you to be healed at the Pokemon center in Petalberg." Kerensa pulled out another pokeball and knelt by the Ralts, but the little being cowered away from her.

"You don't want to be put in a pokeball?" Kerensa asked, gently. Mudkip came over and made a worried noise, before looking at Kerensa meaningfully. Kerensa got the drift: if she didn't get the Ralts to a pokemon center soon, she could die. The wounds were serious.

"Okay: I'll carry you, then" she offered. Ralts made a terrified noise and curled up in a ball. Kerensa considered capturing her, despite her fear of the pokeball, but Mudkip suddenly let out a strict-sounding gurgling noise. Ralts looked up, confused, and Mudkip gave what could only be described as the bark of an order. Ralts, a frightened look on her face, sat up straight. Mudkip went to his mistress' bag and tugged at the medicine pocket.

"Good idea!" Kerensa smiled "we patch her up and carry her to the pokemon center."

Kerensa pulled out a few berries and a potion, and Mudkip helped Ralts to eat, while his trainer sprayed the restoring fluid on the creature's side. Kerensa went to pick up Ralts and she let out another, terrified squeak, but Mudkip made a soothing noise in his throat that seemed to calm the injured Psychic pokemon down.

"Come on, little one…" Kerensa whispered, cradling Ralts in her arms "Let's get you fixed up…"

--

There was no sign of Rohan as Kerensa entered Petalberg, so she just continued towards the Pokemon center. Petalberg was not a large city, but it was pretty industrial; houses bunched together like grey bouquets of flowers. Smoke and fog marred this town, making it a crime den at night, but during the day it was a bustling, normal place to be: cinemas, shops and the gym attracted people in their droves. The sun was setting as she crossed the border, and headed up a sign-posted street towards the large, red-roofed building.

"We're here, hold on now…" she whispered to the Ralts, shouldering her way inside the building. It was pretty crowded, but Nurse Joy took one look at the Ralts and waved her into the emergency ward.

This room was a lot quieter, with one or two, worried looking trainers sitting on plush seats. Kerensa took a seat, and Nurse Joy came over to her.

"Is that your Pokemon?" she asked, in a serious voice. Kerensa shook her head

"No, ma-am. I found her lying on the ground in the woods." She replied.

"I'm afraid we can't do anything for wild pokemon: otherwise we'd have to double the amount of medicine we buy." Sighed the nurse

"And if she was mine?"

"We'd heal her right away."

Kerensa pulled out a pokeball, and placed it on her lap, beside Ralts.

"It's for your own good…" she whispered "please understand."

Ralts was very calm. She nodded her little head and sat back to wait for the ball. Kerensa pressed the button on the front against the little creature's torso. It clicked open and Ralts was converted to data in a second, before being stored inside the ball in a flicker of red light. The Pokeball shivered once, and then was still.

She handed over the pokeball to the pink-haired nurse, then decided to heal up the rest of the team, and handed them over, too. Then she sat, anxiously waiting for news.

--

As Kerensa fretted about her new-found Pokemon, Rohan was heading to the gym. He passed an old, robed man who sat on a bench and nodded at him, knowingly.

"Loon…" he muttered, ignoring him and finding his way to the big, orange-roofed building. As he reached the big, glass doors, it began to drizzle. Rohan hurried inside and was surprised to discover Dan, sitting in the lobby.

"Hey little bro!" he called, waving at Rohan. He approached his older sibling, smiling. It was rare to meet him while he was working, but Dan became a whole different person then: he was more serious, responsible and his laziness disappeared like it had never been there. He wore the badge, and he upheld the law.

"What are you doing here?" Rohan asked, taking a seat opposite Dan, across a coffee table.

"I'm here to see the gym leader; the receptionist's just gone to get him." Dan answered, darkly.

"Why? Are you going to arrest him?" Rohan became excited at this prospect. Dan shook his head.

"No, I just need to make some enquiries about something."

"Oh, what's that then?"

"-Classified; so I can't tell you."

"Darn."

At that moment, a sliding door hissed open and the gym leader emerged. Rohan got his second surprise of the day. He felt a mixture of pride, shock and excitement in his gut as Kiran, his other brother and the second oldest of the family, emerged from the doorway. Dan seemed nonchalant, however. He obviously knew that Kiran had become the gym leader of Petalberg.

"Well if it isn't two little trainers, come to take me on…" Kiran drawled, attempting to sound cool.

"I see your new job hasn't done anything for your attitude" Dan sighed, facepalming as Kiran struck a pose.

"What; I need to intimidate challengers, and this is the best way!"

"You've got a lot to learn…" Dan said, matter-of-factly, and Kiran sat beside them. The pretty, blonde receptionist went and put a "not accepting registrations" notice in the window.

"What're you guys doing here?"

"I was going to ask you some questions; police business, but I can do that another time."

Dan stood.

"I'll be seeing you guys later." He called over his shoulder as he shrugged on a trenchcoat and left the room.

"What's with him?" Kiran asked. He was a tall, dour-looking guy, with shoulder-length, messy black hair and brown eyes. His nose was slightly pointed, another family trait, and his cheeks were thin.

"No idea; he was here when I got in." Rohan answered. Dan was acting slightly weird. He had seemed….worried…about something. Kiran shrugged.

"Well, whatever; he was always the wonder-child…" he sniggered "…mum and dad wonder why they ever had him…"

Rohan grinned; Kiran was as immature as ever. He was only two years younger than Dan, but he was a skilled trainer. This was proved by his new job. There had been a vacancy at Petalberg gym ever since Norman had moved to Sinnoh, and Kiran had got it.

"So you're here to challenge me?" Kiran asked, after his little joke had worn off.

"Well…I was…." Rohan hesitated. He knew Kiran was good, definitely better than himself.

"Forget it, kiddo. According to league rules, I'm the fifth gym leader in Hoenn. Get four badges and then challenge me." His tone was serious there; at least he was taking his job seriously.

"Damn" Rohan sighed.

"Check this out though: I had four battles today! My first day in office and already four challengers!" he smiled.

"Four?" Rohan asked "how did they go?"

"I won three" Kiran looked sad all of a sudden "but this fourth guy was immense: he crushed me with two pokemon."

Rohan was about to ask further questions, when the door burst open. Both of them looked over at the thin, blonde-haired youth there, maybe a year older than Rohan, with surprise.

"I'd like to get a pokemon, please." He breathed, relieved to get that off his chest. Kiran turned to look at Rohan.

"I'm busy at the moment, but you can help him there, can't you?" he asked. Rohan nodded; eager to impress his brother.

--

Outside, in the pouring rain, the hooded man smiled, triumphantly.

"The pieces of the puzzle are coming together…" he intoned.

**Please review; I know it was a bit rushed towards the end of this chapter, but just drop a word or two! The Character Competition is still on: so keep the entries coming!**


	8. Willing Captures and New Friends

**Well, I've been busy recently, but I have been writing on and off, so here's the new chapter!**

**Character Competition will end when I have more entries, because two is hardly a fair choice for me to make. I may need more than one, so don't be disappointed if your character doesn't show up at first, they might be in another chapter. Oh and girls; come on! I need another female trainer too, so it'd be nice to have a few entries into that. I can't have seven out of eight all male- whoops, almost let it slip there….**

--

"Good as new!" declared Joy as Kerensa's pokemon skipped around her feet. Ralts and Poocheana seemed to avoid one-another though; as though they thought that they might fight again if they played.

"Come on guys" she sighed, picking up Poocheana in one hand and Ralts in the other, and setting them down on the table "if we're going to be a team, you guys need to be comfortable around each-other."

The Poocheana gave a haughty sniff and turned his stubby snout up at Ralts. Then, much to Kerensa's surprise, Ralts marched up to the larger dog pokemon, grabbed it by one of the ears and slapped it across the face. Poocheana gave a surprised bark and cowered away from the smaller pokemon.

"Behave!" Kerensa hissed "Look at Mudkip and Wingull; you don't see them fighting, do you?"

Mudkip and Wingull both attempted to look responsible and cool (a tricky feat if you're a frog and a seagull), and both of the new party members hung their heads.

"Whatever differences you had in the past, forget them. You're _my _pokemon now, and you'll do as _I _say, got it?"

"Ralts!"

"Pooch!"

"Good. Now come back to your Pokeballs." Kerensa returned them in a flicker of red light then called back Wingull, too. She hesitated at Mudkip, and smiled.

"You did well today, Mudkip" she congratulated "Thank you. Because of you, we have two new friends."

"Mud…" Mudkip grunted, modestly.

Affixing the pokeballs to her belt, Kerensa turned to leave. As the door opened, Rohan and a strange guy burst in.

"Watch it!" Kerensa barked, as her twin almost knocked her over.

"Geez, what're you so worked up about?" Rohan laughed, his elation annoying her further.

"Hmm…I don't know…maybe the fact that you ran off and left me in the woods!"

"Point…" he muttered, guiltily. Kerensa's eyes bored into his, and then she glanced over at his companion.

"And who's-" she began, before she caught his own, blue-eyed gaze and stopped.

"This is Laurie" Rohan introduced, unaware of the almost electric connection that had passed between them "He wants to get a Pokemon, and I said we'd help him out, right sis?"

"Yeah" Kerensa managed to say "Sure we'll help you..."

She realised she was staring, and quickly averted her eyes.

"You must be Kerensa" Laurie asked. Kerensa nodded.

"What sort of Pokemon are you after?" she asked, hoping it would distract from the fact she had been staring at him.

"I'll go book us a room…" Rohan muttered realising what was happening, and backing towards the desk "It's too late to go outside now."

"Anything will do" the tall youth sighed, running a slender-fingered hand through his rain-sodden blonde hair "I don't care how powerful they are, I've just always wanted to be a pokemon trainer…"

"Really?" Kerensa exclaimed "That's been my dream, but my mum didn't let me until a few days ago?"

"It sucks being a kid; no-one takes you seriously…" Laurie sighed

"Yeah" Kerensa laughed, lightly. Rohan returned with a key.

"There's a room with three separate beds, if that's okay with you Kerensa?" He asked in an irritating voice. Kerensa was about to slap him, but controlled herself.

"That will be fine…" she said, through gritted teeth.

"Are you cool with sharing a room with us?" Rohan asked Laurie, all trace of irony gone.

"Yeah, that's fine!" he laughed "We'll all get up early tomorrow and go out to hunt for my first pokemon: It's going to be great!"

They approached the stairs and headed up to the upper landing, then to bed.

--

Laurie sat in his bed, unable to sleep. He was feeling a mixture of anticipation and fear in his stomach. Though he was always an outgoing guy, he had never faced any sort of journey like the one he would face after he received a pokemon, but as well as that: he felt excited. New friends, a Pokemon of his very own and adventure lay ahead of him. Speaking of friends…

He turned his head to look over at Kerensa, who lay with the sheets twisted about her slim form. He smiled, slightly, and then got up and wandered to the window. Rain drummed against it, as though it were beckoning him outside. From its view, he could see over the low buildings on the outskirts of town and a little way into the forest. It was morning (albeit very early) and the first rays of dawn were edging their way over the horizon.

--

**I know this is a bit of a jump: but here's Dan's P.O.V….**

The briefing room was in chaos. Dan was sitting at one end of the table, his trenchcoat hanging from the back of his battered office chair. A whiteboard with unreadable scrawls of text and complicated diagrams hung nearby, but Dan got the gist of it.

"Damn…" he muttered "another one…"

Someone ran past his position, and he recognised it as one of the young recruits he was meant to be babysitting whilst the rest of the force dealt with the sudden surge of attacks in the cities of Hoenn.

"Hey: Jules!" he called. The young man stopped and turned, inquisitively.

"Yes Detective?" he asked. The poor guy looked exhausted; bloodshot eyes with bags under them and morning stubble dotting his chin. Dan sighed and put his head in his hands.

"Get me a sandwich, then take a break." He muttered through his fingers.

"Sir?" Jules asked; surprised.

"You're no good to me when you're about to collapse with exhaustion." He grumbled "now where's my sandwich?"

"Right away sir…" the relief in the man's voice spoke of hours of work with no sleep.

"Philippa" Dan called. The other 'on-call' detective that had been left behind to mind the station with him approached.

"Yeah?" she asked, fiddling with her long, red hair.

"Can we take the other Gym leaders into protective custody?" he asked.

"No, they've done nothing wrong, and if they refuse police guards on the doors of their gyms, that's their concern."

"Damn it…" he sighed.

"Worried about Kiran?" she asked, sitting down beside him and regarding him with azure eyes. He nodded and took a swig of tea from the stained mug beside him. He winced as he realised it was stone-cold.

"He'll be fine. You've seen him battle. He can handle himself." She comforted.

"Well Wallace was supposed to be able to handle himself and he's dead, too."

"If it makes you feel better, we could go visit him."

"I already did" the young Detective muttered "but I didn't get a chance to talk to him alone."

To his surprise, she put an arm round his shoulders.

"We're all stressed…" she told him "just keep with it until this gets sorted out."

"I guess that's all we can do."

--

Rohan stretched, kicked Zombi off the end of his bed by accident and then got up. The room was empty except for him, because Kerensa and Laurie were already downstairs.

"Sorry about that, Zombi…" he muttered.

"Wuuurgh…"

"Yeah, come on: Downstairs."

The teenager shrugged on his shirt and bag, picked up Zombi and headed downstairs. There was a small café area adjacent to the pokemon center entrance and they grabbed toast and spreads here. Zombie happily munched on Rohan's food as he drank a mug of coffee. Kerensa looked fresh and rested, but Laurie was dishevelled and exhausted looking.

"Not get much sleep?" Rohan asked. Laurie shook his head.

"Excited, I guess." He sighed, running a hand through his tangled blonde hair. Kerensa smiled at this, secretly, and went back to her plate of toast, which had disappeared suddenly.

"Mudkip!" she barked. Her little blue pokemon looked up guiltily from the last crust he was eating "You have your own food!"

"Mud!"

"Fine, eat that. I'll just go and get some more." She sighed, shrugging hopelessly at her happy starter.

--

Ten minutes and lots of breakfast later, they all left the center and wandered out into the town.

"Where do we look first?" Laurie asked

"Well" Rohan began, thoughtfully "…there's the route we used to get here; the pokemon there are probably weaker than those most other places around here."

"It sounds like a plan!" Laurie nodded.

They headed east, to the way they had reached Petalberg, originally. Kerensa looked out across the woods, which were alive with the chirrup of Wurmple and barking of Poocheana. Something made her reach into her pocket and release Ralts. As they walked, Ralts suddenly paused and put both hands to her head. The red horn there pulsed softly, once.

"What's she doing?" Rohan asked.

"Using foresight." Kerensa muttered. Ralts straightened, tugged on Kerensa's ankle and pointed through the trees.

"That way?" she asked. The little psychic pokemon nodded.

They wandered the indicated route, and found nothing for about two minutes.

"Look!" Laurie gasped "a wild Ralts!"

It was indeed a wild Ralts, but was male according to the scans run by the trainers' Pokenavs.

"You want him?" Kerensa asked.

"Yeah" he said "I know how this is done, but I need a pokeball."

"Shouldn't we weaken him first?" Rohan asked, confused.

"No, he's communicating with me, telepathically!" Laurie said. They were all silent and a whispering voice could be heard over the background noise. Laurie repeated each word.

"_Capture me, and allow me to travel with you…I am your weapon, armour and shield. I fight for you, Laurie." _It whispered.

"Why would it want you to own it?" Kerensa asked, handing over an empty pokeball.

"No idea, but we shouldn't turn this offer down!" Rohan grinned, slapping his new friend on the back "good luck!"

Laurie took the offered Pokeball and stepped towards the little psychic pokemon.

"Pokeball; go!" he cried out, throwing the capture device.

**What does the Ralts want? Why is it so willing to be captured? What is happening to the gym leaders and is Kiran in danger?**** What will happen to Dan, Kerensa and co? When will anyone else review this story?**

**Thanks for reading; please review!**


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